


A Little Bit of Dust and Elbow Grease

by docemoon145



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Amalgamates, Caretaking, Flowey (Undertale) Redemption, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, No Romance, Post-Undertale Neutral Route - Near Genocide Ending, Tsundere Flowey (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2020-10-29 08:44:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20793872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/docemoon145/pseuds/docemoon145
Summary: You got a call one otherwise ordinary night from your friend who was an archaeologist. She needed your help with something, but why? You were a human and animal psychologist. What could she possibly need from you?Well… help with caring for an unidentified creature found in some ruins, deep underground.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to make this clear, although this work is written in second person, the main character is an established OC, not a reader insert. I just thought this one worked better in second person than in third person.
> 
> I promise no update schedule and I write whatever the heck I want. Not sure if this fic will turn out short or grow into another of my 80k+ monsters, but you’re welcome to join me if the story grabs you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the characters I want to write are being satisfied through my Angel fins fic, so I thought to myself, what’s another setting, concept, or character I love that doesn’t get nearly enough content written about them? And now we’re here.
> 
> Sixbones belongs to Zarla, I think. Either way, he’s not mine. I’m just giving him some attention.

Amanda Determ was the head of an archeological institution built on the ravings of her mentally unstable grandmother. Old lady Frisk had been in and out of mental care facilities, ranting about monsters in Mount Ebott and occasionally lapsing into violent behavior. It was Amanda talking about her grandmother that first got you interested in psychology, but Amanda had always believed there was some truth to Frisk’s declarations.

There was legislature banning the development of Mount Ebott dating back to the founding of your country. It took an enormous amount of work for your friend to get permission to dig there. She devoted years of her life to it. More than worrying she would waste her life petitioning and begging for a permit for scientific discovery, you were always worried what would happen when she finally got digging and found nothing there.

But a few days after the digging started, you received a joyous call from your friend. There was something in the mountain: remnants of a civilization long gone from this world. There were stone buildings, pathways, and even processed metal machines. There were no people down there anymore, but according to Amanda, that wasn’t what was strange about it. The bizarre thing was that no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find any remains.

Amanda was an archeologist, but she also had a degree in anthropology. Without any human remains to analyze, the amount she could learn from a dig site was greatly reduced. They kept at it for weeks, and you got a second call, this one cheerful, but also somber.

“Hey, Jessy… We found some remains,” Amanda told you. “Seven children in coffins, hidden in the basement of this huge castle.”

The children had all died decades apart from one another, from what Amanda could tell. They were different ages and genders, but the way they were entombed implied they were respected and loved in their society.

“There are wounds on their bodies. I… think they might have been ritualistically sacrificed.”

There were carvings in the walls in some places that Amanda and her team had managed to translate. They described things like monsters, souls, and some kind of Angel. It was hard to interpret what exactly they were supposed to mean, but it was clear this had been a fairly religious society.

Amanda was feeling a little depressed, because it seemed like this society followed some sort of cremation practice which only the child sacrifices had been spared from. There was a region in the underground ruins that had open access to magma, and her team turned their attention there, hoping to find adult remains that hadn’t yet been incinerated.

The last thing you’d heard from her was that they’d found a geothermal generator that they were actually able to get back into working condition. You were shocked that a society that must have died out hundreds of years ago had that kind of technology available to them, and you were waiting eagerly for your friend’s next update. 

It was in the middle of the night when you got a somewhat panicked call from her.

“Please, Jessy, you need to come down here. We… we found something… alive? I need your help.”

“Is it a person or an animal?” You asked, already throwing on your coat and fishing for your car keys.

“I don’t know. That’s why I called _ you_.”


	2. Sixbones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *In which you meet the strange creature your friend found.

A small group of people was waiting for you at the entrance to the underground ruins. Apparently, the place you were going to was quite a ways in, but they had a ride waiting. Larger vehicles were still kind of a pain to get inside, but smaller things like the golf cart they prepared for you could come and go as they pleased. 

It really was bizarre though, to drive through a snowy forest, a rainy marshland, and a cavern of exposed magma all inside of the same mountain just a few minutes from each other. This place was certainly worth researching. 

It was amazing to see the still-working machines of an ancient, long-lost civilization. Electricity, elevators, automatic doors! You were with Amanda: you were dying to know what kind of people had lived in a place like this—had _built_ a place like this. 

You let your friend’s workers take you inside of one of the old buildings and down the elevator into some kind of old laboratory. The awe was still there in the back of your mind, but more and more, you were feeling nervous. In a place like this, your friend had found a living creature that she couldn’t even identify as a person or an animal. You had no idea what to expect down there. 

It was a relief when you met with Amanda herself. She was pacing nervously when you saw her, and she ran over to give you a hug as soon as she noticed you.

“Thank you so much for coming,” she breathed out a sigh of relief. 

“Well, of course!” you smiled, hugging her back. “Where’s this creature?”

Amanda jabbed her thumb at the hallway branching off behind her. “It’s that way. It fell asleep a few minutes ago.”

You nodded and braced yourself, stepping toward where you could see around the corner. 

You had no words to describe what you were seeing. Sitting against the wall a little down the hallway was a… thing. God, you really sympathized with Amanda’s confusion right now. It looked like two fully-dressed human skeletons had melted and fused back together down to their clothes. Still, they looked somehow goopy and inconsistent. You never would have guessed they—_it_—was something alive were it not for the fact that the smaller skeleton was snoring. 

Far from being a human or an animal, you didn’t even think this creature was natural. It looked like some kind of macabre experiment born in this lab. 

You turned back out of the hall and saw a stressed and tired look on your friend’s face. You were worried about how closely you matched it right now. 

“Has it done anything since you found it? Made any aggressive movements?”

“It wasn’t wary of us at all,” she said, shaking her head. “One of the guards panicked and shot it with a tranquilizer dart, but it didn’t even react. I don’t think it could even feel it.”

“It’s asleep now,” you pointed out. 

She sighed. “It wore itself out making weird noises. I think the two heads were arguing with each other.”

Admittedly, the chance to examine a creature with two separate minds was enticing to you. That was a whole untapped region of psychology. 

You peeked around the corner again and startled back a step. The smaller skeleton was still sleeping, but the taller skeleton was awake and standing. It saw you and tipped its head, moaning a combination of sounds that you couldn’t understand. 

You took a shaky breath and decided to treat it like a wild animal for now. You avoided sudden movements or intimidating postures and held out your hand. The creature kept its head tilted and moaned again. It frowned and pressed lazily on the smaller skeleton’s head, making sounds at it until it slowly woke up. The smaller skeleton mumbled something, looked at you, and chuckled. It mimicked your gesture, and when the tall skeleton saw that, it did the same, smiling a cheerful, droopy smile.

You had made a few discoveries right off the bat, it seemed. Mimicry was only seen in creatures with a certain level of intelligence; the two heads did seem to think independently if they could argue and discover things at different paces; the creature could laugh and feel amusement (a sign of higher than usual emotional intelligence); it shared some of your human body language, such as smiling—the list went on. 

“Well, if I had to choose, I’d say it’s closer to a person than an animal,” you said over your shoulder. “And those sounds are a little more complex than normal growling or chittering.”

Whether or not it was some kind of language the skulls were speaking, it was too early to tell, but at this rate, you could probably use body language and tone to communicate.

“Amanda, come here and hold my hand for a second,” you said.

“Um, I mean, if you say so.”

She took a few steps forward and accepted the hand you held out to her, then you told her to go back. You extended a hand again to the creature and spoke in the sweet voice you would use with a baby or a pet.

“It’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a friend, see? Come on now, come closer. Good skeletons.”

The tall skeleton took a step forward as you beckoned it. It took another step, and the short skeleton frowned, moaning something and sounding uncomfortable. The taller skeleton had full control of the creature’s ability to walk, though. It moaned a few cheerful sounds back at its other half and kept approaching. When it was close enough, the tall skeleton extended a hand and clasped yours just like Amanda had done.

It was warm, and sort of squishy. You forced a cramped smile onto your face.

“That’s a good boy. Aren’t you friendly? Good job.”

It wasn’t melting your skin off, so that was a good sign 

You offered up your other hand for the small skeleton. He looked at your one hand in the tall skeleton’s grasp, accepted your other hand, and then started giggling a lot. You didn’t understand why it was so funny, but the laughter quickly seemed to make the tall skeleton irritated. It moaned at the short skeleton until it stopped laughing, but they both seemed pretty friendly toward you now.

There was something in those sounds they were making, you were sure of it.

“Hey, do you have a notebook I could borrow?” you asked Amanda. “I want to record some of the sounds they’re making. It could mean something.”

“Yeah, stuff like that’s no problem. If you want to take some time studying it, could you maybe get it into one of the rooms? It’s freaking out the workers.”

“Sure.”

You convinced the creature to follow you into a room, and then you just spent some time talking and listening to it, writing down what you could sound out from the noises the different heads made. After a few hours, you came back out and showed your notes to Amanda. 

“... Holy shit. You might actually be right about this.”

She went and compared the phonetic sounds to what they’d managed to translate from the carvings and recordings they’d found scattered around down here, and Amanda returned a tentative translation of some of the “words” the creature had been saying. 

The words “human,” “friend,” and “play” came up a lot. Sometimes the smaller skeleton would start talking, and the taller skeleton would frown and start protesting “no” over and over until they both got tired. There were also some sounds they hadn’t been able to translate that you were convinced were laughter. 

You held a hand to your mouth and chuckled. “I see. The little one likes to tell jokes, and the big one hates them.” You had been expecting attempts at serious communication from them, but they were surprisingly simple and cute. 

“Can you tell me how to ask their names in their language?” You asked your friend. 

“Um, something like [What is your name?]” She looked at you strangely. “Do you think they _have_ names? Or remember them?”

“It’s probably a long shot,” you confessed. “But they might.”

It was a little hard to understand the skeletons still, but they tended to repeat whatever they said a few times, so you felt pretty sure you’d gotten the best translation you could. 

Their names were Sans and Papyrus. When referring to them as one creature, you called them Sixbones.


	3. Flowey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *In which you meet a talking flower who’s not all bad.

After successfully learning what Sixbones called itself, you tried to learn more from it. You had some success with simple questions such as [Do you like jokes?] The question prompted Sans to start by saying [knock knock] and giggling, and then Papyrus would protest with a series of [no]s. You tried asking [who’s there], but apparently he couldn’t remember the rest of the joke.

More complex questions like [Where did you come from?] got aimless and confusing answers. You all but gave up on those, asking only to check them off your list.

Sans got tired after just a few minutes and went to sleep, and Papyrus whined in protest. 

“It’s okay,” you laughed. “He seems tired. Let him sleep, Papyrus.”

Papyrus brightened up at hearing his name spoken.

[Play… Play? Human… friend…? Play with… human?]

You smiled. “Okay, [play]. What do you want to play?”

Papyrus beamed in goopy joy. [Play with… hu… man!]

You gasped. Drooping, mushy, white, bone-shaped things rose up out of the floor and slid toward you slowly. You stepped around them (they weren’t very persistent in chasing you down) and stared as they vanished back into the floor. 

[Human… dodge. Play? …Friend play.]

“Um…” Papyrus was looking at you expectantly, so you put your questions on the back burner for a moment. In the best approximation of mimicry you could manage for something like that, you set your pen on the floor and rolled it toward him. It stopped partway, but he looked satisfied.

It was his “turn” again, and you got another look at those inconstant bones that seemed to be made from nothing. You stepped aside and let them pass in front of you, then gave the cheerful skeleton a smile. “Good job, Papyrus. You win! I give up.”

He still just looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to take your “turn”, so you consulted your notes.

“Um… [spare]? Right, I’m [sparing] you. You win.”

The excitement left his slouchy posture and was replaced with satisfaction. He shuffled in closer, wrapping you in a warm, sticky hug. 

[Human… friend…]

The strange game had apparently worn him out, so Papyrus fell asleep with Sans. You took the chance to see how Amanda and her team were doing on their end of things.

Amanda’s group was making far more progress toward understanding the general situation and the history down here than you were. They’d been translating data recorded in various places throughout the lab for hours, and an eerie picture was forming.

The scientist who had once been in charge of this lab had apparently kept a journal. It talked about a project where they had gathered up “monsters” who had “fallen down” and given them a substance called “determination” in an attempt to restore them to health. The result was that the “monsters” had melted together.

Sixbones closely matched the descriptions of the resulting “amalgamates”. 

Luckily for you, the scientist had cared for these creatures in secret for some time, and there were notes left behind detailing their needs. Regular meals kept them happy (apparently some of them got quite cranky), but they weren’t necessary. Not only did the amalgamates not need to eat, they couldn’t be hurt or killed by any means besides extracting the determination from their bodies… 

Amanda scratched her head, “According to this, we should be finding a few more of these things, right?”

“And you haven’t yet?”

“Not a one!”

You sighed and skimmed over the papers again. “Well, maybe it would be better having fewer to take care of… Doesn’t it say here that some of them like to hide in drain pipes and stuff? Have you checked in there?”

“My job really isn’t to actively look for these things,” Amanda grimaced. “I’d just as soon rather we leave each other alone so I can do my research in peace.”

You nodded. There was something else pretty important you needed to talk to her about. Considering you had just been called in as emergency support to keep Sixbones from getting in the researchers’ way, “You contacted somebody about Sixbones, right?”

“Yeah,” she waved. “I called, but they said they couldn’t send anybody until Monday. Can you believe that?”

“I mean, government organizations are pretty famous for not working weekends, so yeah.”

She turned her eyes up at you sheepishly. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but can you help us out until then?”

It _ was _ a lot to ask, but then again, what else were friends for? 

“Sure, but you owe me big time.”

“Thank you so much!”

Over the course of the next two days, one way or another, the researchers kept stumbling onto new amalgamates. You were tasked with calming them down and bringing them to the room with Sixbones to stay out of everybody’s way. Some of them, like Sixbones, Snowdrake’s Mother, and Watchingman were completely passive and came without much effort. 

Others, like Reaper Bird put up a fight at first. They summoned some of those strange goopy white things in self-defense, but you dodged and insisted that you were [sparing] them until they gave up and came with you.

Others were troublesome. Endogeny was full of energy, shuffling along the walls and bouncing on the ceiling, and you had to play with him for a while before he tired out. Lemon Bread, despite his silly name, was highly aggressive. You had to be really quick on your feet to dodge those summoned jaws, and your jacket had even gotten torn. You almost had to learn the hard way that those slimy white defense mechanisms were legitimately dangerous to touch. 

Memoryhead was probably the worst. He made your ears ring just by being near him. For a moment, some of the nearby workers seemed to have lost themselves and even passed out, but after firmly telling him “Stop that. [No]. I’m [sparing] you,” he said [What a shame] and vanished. Everyone turned out to be okay, but you couldn’t find that amalgamate again no matter how many drains you searched.

You really had your hands full in the end, babysitting 6 of them, but finally the government sent their workers to help. They were in similar professions as you, with the added bonus of being certified social workers. After assessing the situation, it was decided that the amalgamates had been something like people in the past, so they were to be cared for like humans that had been mutilated and disabled by tragic circumstances. In the end, each amalgamate would be assigned to one caseworker who would help them become adjusted to the surface and the modern era in a safe and controlled home environment… if that was really possible for these creatures.

You went to sleep feeling like a large burden was lifted from you. These creatures would be well-cared for, Amanda could continue her research, and you could go back to your normal life.

[Hey! Come on, you stinking human. Wake up!]

You heard words spoken in a language you were still just barely getting used to and groggily opened your eyes. Sitting up, you saw a golden flower sticking out of the floor at the foot of your bed.

“Wh...at?”

[Don’t you “what” me. Are you an idiot?] 

Ah, clearly this was some sort of dream. You laid back down to return to sleep, and the flower shouted at you.

[Don’t go back to sleep! Do you know how long I had to wait for you to be alone without that smiley trashbag leaning over your shoulder?! Hey, I’m talking to you!]

With dismay, you wondered if you’d finally gone insane, or if this really was happening. You sighed and sat up in bed, hoping to find out.

“So, are you another amalgamate? I’m not good enough with your language to have conversations in it yet.”

“Ugh!” The flower groaned. “So I have to use your language? You humans are so selfish, you know?”

“Right, sorry, sorry. Anyway, I’m Jessica. What’s your name?”

“I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower! Nice to meet’cha.” The flower—which had a face, by the way—scowled at you. “And no, I’m not an amalgamate, but I was made in this lab... sort of.”

“So, what do you want, Flowey?” 

If this was a dream, it was an elaborate but stupid one, and if you were hallucinating, you were in serious trouble. But, well, this imaginary flower was rude, and you didn't want to show him your weak side.

“I want you to take me to Frisk.”

You blinked. “You mean Amanda’s grandma? Why?”

“We had a mutual friend. I parted with them on bad terms, and… well, I’ve had a lot of time to think. I want to make things right between us before Frisk kicks the bucket and they run off to stars know where.”

You took a deep breath and sighed. “I have things to do. Besides, she’s Amanda’s grandmother. Ask her to take you.”

The flower’s face darkened. “Yeah, thanks but no thanks. She’s the one stomping all over the Underground like she owns it. You just got dragged in for a favor, and you seem tolerable for a human.”

“Yeah, yeah. If I wake up and you still exist, I’ll think about it.”

The flower was still there when you woke up, glaring at your stupid face flatly.

“I’m real, you know. Idiot.”

“Oh my god.”

“So will you take me to see Frisk or not?”

“I feel like I can’t refuse. I’ve never been asked for a favor by a talking flower before.” It kind of felt like a fairy tale, so you were worried you’d be cursed if you turned him down.

“Well at least you’re not stupid enough to say no.”

You tuned out the talking flower for now and started getting ready. You had things to do, so you’d been planning to leave the Underground this morning either way. Once you were all dressed and had your handful of things packed, you grabbed an empty flower pot off of a shelf and set it down next to Flowey.

“Get in, I guess.”

The flower looked at you flatly. “Uh, no. I can get around on my own, thanks.”

“I’m going to drive back to my place. I don’t know how a flower gets around in the first place, but can you keep up with a moving car?”

Flowey groaned, rolled his eyes dramatically, and uprooted himself, climbing into the pot all on his own. He extended some roots and dug up a little soil to make things more comfortable for him.

“Alright already, let’s go,” he complained.

You picked up the pot, grabbed your bag, and started outside. You found a worker and asked them if you could get a ride back to the exit, but instead they told you that the government workers had been wanting to talk to you. It turned out you had to make a little detour before you could leave. And then it turned out to be a big detour.

Apparently, while all the other amalgamates had accepted being taken in by their caseworkers, Sixbones had gotten attached to you and was refusing to cooperate.

“Geh!” Flowey made a noise when he saw the skeletal amalgamate and sank as far as he could into the shallow soil.

“Do you not like amalgamates?” You asked him gently.

“It’s just the smiley trashbag I have a problem with,” he replied lowly. “I knew him before they were like this, and we didn’t get along.”

“Smiley trashbag?”

“The short, stupid-looking one.”

You hummed, but you liked Sixbones more than you liked Flowey, and you weren’t going to stop approaching just because he was a little unhappy.

“What’s the matter boys? Why don’t you want to go with the nice people?”

Papyrus made a sad face and leaned in for a warm, sticky hug. 

[Friend…]

“Aw, you’re sweet, Papyrus. But these people want to take care of you. You need to go with them.” 

You pushed back against him in a gentle, prompting way, but Papyrus held you tighter and shook his head. 

[Friend... stay…]

[She said she doesn’t want to babysit you, numb skull,] Flowey bit out. [Back off already!] Then he “eeped” and ducked back into the pot when he saw Sans looking at him with a hint of recognition.

“This is a problem,” said the caseworker who was supposed to take Sixbones home with him. “If he’s this attached, it might hurt his development to separate him from you.”

You sighed, “I know. But I have other clients to think about, and I don’t have the certifications to be a full time caseworker for anyone.”

“It’s a tricky situation,” the caseworker nodded. “We’ve been talking about it a bit while you were still sleeping. Let me know what you think of this idea.”

Apparently, because this was such a special situation, the government was considering letting you care for Sixbones under a temporary permit while you applied for a real certification. You would be paid accordingly at least so that you could provide the amalgamate with everything he needed for a safe and comfortable home environment, and they would help you arrange for some of your current clients to transfer to other qualified professionals. Basically, they wanted to set you up however they were capable of so that this could work. They were pretty serious about nurturing these amalgamates back to mental stability.

Maybe that was the expected level of caution to hold toward immortal, unkillable creatures with bizarre magic-like self-defense mechanisms.

You didn’t dislike Sixbones by any means. He was a sweet, well-meaning creature, and you were incredibly curious about him. So, if the government was willing to go this far to let you continue caring for him, you might as well put in the effort to meet them halfway.

“Alright, I get it.” You patted Papyrus who had kept hugging you this entire time. “You can [stay with me].”

Papyrus laughed softly and held you tighter, and Flowey moaned in his pot.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go with Amanda?” You asked him. “Since you and Sans don’t get along?”

“Ugh, whatever! It was mostly my fault back then anyway. Besides, it’s not like he can do anything to me in _that_ state.”

Flowey was stubborn and had a rough way of speaking, but he acknowledged his own faults and worked on them, if only just a little, and that made you see him in a slightly better light.

“Well alright then.”


	4. Closure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *In which you take Flowey to visit his mysterious friend.

You clicked the metal buckle into place and tightened the grey strap around the base of the pot, twisting the ceramic container a few times until you felt confident it was secure. Flowey, meanwhile, glared at you flatly.

“This is stupid.”

“Seatbelts are there to keep you safe,” you replied, stepping back and ushering Sixbones into the back seat. He was a little bulky, but well within the limits of what your car could accommodate. You had to have him sit on the left side of the car, though; otherwise, Sans was barely covered by the shoulder strap.

Flowey leaned around the passenger seat and watched you with an even more done look.

“Okay. Putting a seatbelt on a potted plant is one thing. An amalgamate though? Seriously? You know they can’t die, right?”

“I don’t think it really matters. It’s a good habit to have.”

“In the first place,” the flower continued, “wouldn’t you normally set a flower on the floor so it doesn’t tip over? Why am I in a chair?”

You shut the back door and got yourself buckled behind the steering wheel. “Would you  _ like _ being on the floor where you can’t see out the windows?”

For a heartbeat, he looked surprised, then the flower just hung his blossom and watched you suspiciously. “You’re weird.”

You turned the ignition and carefully started down the dirt path back to the highway. “If you say so, magic talking flower.”

Sixbones was curious about your lawn and garden and, well, everything, really. Luckily, getting excited tired him out fast, and you were able to usher him inside. Then, while he was taking a nap, you went around explaining things to your neighbors so nobody would freak out and call the cops on you if they happened to spot the human-ish-shaped amalgamate in your window or something.

“Yeah, I saw you bringing that thing in,” one of your middle-aged neighbors replied. “That wasn’t a guy in a suit?”

“No. We’re still not totally sure what amalgamates like him are, but he’s friendly and harmless. I really just wanted you to know that I have permission to be taking care of him.”

“Whatever you wanna do in your house,” he huffed. “It isn’t going to be walking around the neighborhood, right? That thing will scare my daughter.”

“He won’t ever be out without supervision,” you assured him.

Convincing everyone that lived near enough to your house that they mattered took time, and Sixbones was up and about when you returned home. Papyrus had poured himself a glass of milk and set your  _ entire _ roll of paper towels on the counter where he’d spilled some excess. 

“He wanted to use the stove to cook something,” Flowey answered without being asked. “I talked him down from it. You’re welcome.”

“Oh boy,” you held your forehead. “Thanks, Flowey.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get too chummy. I just figured it’d take you longer to get me to Frisk if your house burned down.”

“Well, you’d be right about that.” You helped pour a second glass of milk for Sans, but he didn’t seem to want it, so you drank it yourself.

“Do you need anything, Flowey? Food, water, sunlight?”

“I can take care of myself, thanks. More importantly, when are you going to take me to see Frisk?”

“Right, I promised after all. I need to get my things in order, call and cancel a bunch of appointments, and submit my application to be an official caseworker. If you help me watch Sixbones, I think I can be done in two days.”

Flowery looked at Sixbones peacefully napping/drinking milk and sighed. “Alright, deal. It’s not like they could be  _ that _ much trouble.”

You had a lot to get done, so you got right to work. You stayed busy and mostly fueled by caffeine for the next two days. Sixbones occasionally knocked something over or otherwise broke something due to curiosity or clumsiness, but you didn’t blame him. You were letting a flower babysit him after all. 

Finally, you were ready to make good on your promise. 

You had to take Sixbones along, of course. You couldn’t just leave him at home unsupervised. When you arrived at the nursing home where Frisk was currently staying, you cranked up the air conditioning and sang a song to put Sixbones to sleep. Sans was always easy to put under, and Papyrus had a hard time staying awake when his other half was sound asleep, so he followed shortly after. 

Quietly, you took Flowey out of the car and shut the doors. 

“Let’s be quick,” you said to him. “I want to be back by the time he wakes up.”

“Not a problem,” Flowey quipped. “Let’s just go already. We’re almost there.”

You’d been here to visit Frisk with Amanda several times, and since everyone thought the old lady was crazy and stayed away from her, the nursing staff gladly let you in to give her some company. Flowey hung his head and did a decent impression of a regular flower so nobody stopped to ask questions. 

You navigated the facility to Frisk’s room. The door was open, nurses regularly patrolled the halls, and Frisk was lying in bed for what looked like an afternoon nap. 

“Put me on the windowsill,” Flowey said. You did. He watched Frisk sleeping for a minute, then he said, “Alright. You can leave now.”

“Huh?”

“You wanted to be with those guys when they wake up, right? I can handle the rest here by myself.”

You frowned a little. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll meet you by the car.”

It was kind of an odd request, but you figured he just wanted some privacy. Maybe whatever he had to say was embarrassing or personal. Well, there wasn’t any harm to doing like he asked, so you returned to the car to wait with Sixbones. 

About ten minutes later, you heard tapping on the outside of your door. You opened it to see Flowey. He’d somehow dragged himself all the way back here. The little flower really was remarkably independent.

“Did you do whatever you needed to do?” you asked uncertainly.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Sorry it took a while.”

“That’s fine,” you shook your head. “Are you sure that was enough time? You did a lot just to get here.”

“I said what I needed to say,” he replied curtly and hung his head. “I don’t know if that person is capable of changing anymore, but it’s fine. I said goodbye. I can move on now.”

You pursed your lips and reached down to pick up the little flower pot. 

“Well, as long as you’re satisfied.”

“Hey, uh,” as you worked to buckle the flower back in, he started squirming in his pot. “Can I, uh, crash with you for a few days?”

“You can stay for longer than that, Flowey,” you chuckled. “I’d like it if you kept helping me with Sixbones.”

It was only for a moment, but you thought you saw the flower blush before fiercely turning its head to the window. 

“I guess I’ve got nothing else to do up here,” he mumbled.

You smiled and held back a laugh. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
